Good morning.
Here’s what you need to know:
• Another false alarm: Japan’s public broadcaster accidentally alerted that North Korea had launched a missile, just days after a similar mistake in Hawaii.
The broadcaster, NHK, corrected itself within minutes and apologized, saying that “staff had mistakenly operated the equipment to deliver news alerts over the internet.”
North Korea’s state-run newspaper gleefully described Hawaii’s false alarm as a “tragicomedy.”
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• In a new development in the Russia inquiry, Stephen Bannon, above, President Trump’s former chief strategist, has been called to testify before a grand jury. He is the first member of Mr. Trump’s inner circle known to have received a grand jury subpoena as part of the special counsel’s investigation.
It came after Mr. Bannon was quoted in a new book criticizing Mr. Trump, and saying that Donald Trump Jr.’s 2016 meeting with Russians was “treasonous.”
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• In Southern California, a 17-year-old girl held captive by her parents escaped and called the police, who rescued her siblings, some of whom were shackled to their beds.
The officers did not immediately realize that seven of the 13 siblings were adults, they were so emaciated. The eldest is 29, the youngest 2.
The parents were arrested on nine counts each of torture and child endangerment.
Above, the family’s home in Perris, Calif.
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• From our Opinion section: The continuing debate over #MeToo flared again with an article published by the feminist website Babe accusing the actor Aziz Ansari, above, of sexual misconduct. One of our columnists called the article “arguably the worst thing that has happened to the #MeToo movement.”
To lump a lousy romantic encounter in with the same movement that brought down men who abused their power “trivializes what #MeToo first stood for,” she writes.
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• The language of Kazakhstan is written in a version of Cyrillic, a legacy of Soviet rule. Now the country is moving to a script based on the Latin alphabet.
The challenge: accommodating its many unique sounds. The solution, according to the country’s first and only president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, is lots and lots of apostrophes.
(The Republic of Kazakhstan, for example, will be written Qazaqstan Respy’bli’kasy.)
In a country where almost nobody challenges the president publicly, the apostrophe plan has been criticized loudly. The script “makes your eyes hurt,” one professor said.
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• A cold spell has even Canadians shivering. So people were surprised when two figures were spotted on Toronto’s frozen downtown harbor.
One was from a hardy group of Torontonians who live on island parkland in the middle of the city, with coyotes and ice boats. For them, ice time is play time.
Meanwhile, our food section looks at the vibrant culinary scene in Canada, where young indigenous cooks are reclaiming the cuisine of their ancestors and where newcomers like Syrian refugees have found a niche in Toronto, which is proudly defined by immigrant cuisine.
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Business
• The Chinese carmaker GAC outlined a broad plan to gain a foothold in the U.S. in 2019: a partnership with Fiat Chrysler.
• The world’s largest passenger jet may be endangered: Production of the Airbus A380 will cease if its only major customer, Emirates, does not order any more.
• Oil prices briefly passed $70 a barrel in Asian trading, as a buoyant global economy bolstered demand, meaning prices could still climb.
• Alexa, we’re still trying to figure out what to do with you: Many people use virtual assistants, but not in the way that tech giants had envisioned.
• U.S. stocks were up. Here’s a snapshot of global markets.
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In the News
• An oil spill from the Iranian tanker that sank in the East China Sea is rapidly spreading and could be the worst environmental disaster of its kind since 1991. [The New York Times]
• Bangladesh and Myanmar have agreed on a time frame for repatriating Rohingya refugees. More than 740,000 people have fled the violence in Myanmar since 2016. [BBC]
• The Czech Republic faces political turmoil after its Parliament rejected the prime minister’s minority government in a no-confidence vote. [The New York Times]
• Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of shared democratic values and visited the Taj Mahal on Tuesday. He is the first Israeli prime minister to visit India in 15 years. [The Indian Express]
• A Danish submarine inventor was formally indicted on homicide charges in connection with the death of a Swedish journalist in August. [The New York Times]
• Taliban fighters are using sophisticated tools to kill Afghan forces: “The unit is equipped with American weapons and night vision,” a police spokesman in Kunduz said. [The New York Times]
• Novak Djokovic shook off an elbow injury to defeat Donald Young in the first round of the Australian Open. [The New York Times]
• The Japanese authorities activated an emergency alert to warn residents not to eat toxic puffer fish from a local supermarket, which mistakenly sold packages without removing its poisonous parts. [The Japan Times]
Smarter Living
Tips, both new and old, for a more fulfilling life.
• So you’ve been asked to be a bridesmaid. Now what?
• Following Dry January? Here are six alcohol-free cocktails to try.
• Wild rice and mushroom casserole will feed a big family in style.
Noteworthy
• What motivates South Korea? In today’s episode of The Daily, we look at why it is so eager to have the North participate in the Winter Olympics next month in Pyeongchang, South Korea, above.
• As the White House photographer for President Obama, Pete Souza visited all 50 states and more than 60 countries. He spoke with us about what he learned while traveling with the president.
• In an exclusive interview, the (former) novelist Philip Roth shares his thoughts on President Trump, #MeToo and retirement.
Back Story
“Color,” said Louis Comfort Tiffany, “is to the eye what music is to the ear.”
Tiffany, who died on this day 85 years ago, was the son of the founder of Tiffany & Co., the famous jeweler. But the younger Tiffany found his own success as an artist and designer, most famous for his work with stained glass.
In 1881, he helped redesign the interior of a house in Hartford, Conn., owned by Mark Twain, who was making his name after the publication of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”
The work was followed a year later by a commission with a much higher profile: redecorating the White House.
Chester Arthur had been thrust into office after the assassination of President James Garfield in 1881. He hired Tiffany to remodel the Executive Mansion to suit his refined tastes.
Tiffany redecorated several rooms, and he also installed a large stained-glass screen in the Entrance Hall.
But his mark on the White House did not last. Twenty years later, in 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt ordered a major renovation that swept away the building’s Victorian touches — including Tiffany’s screen.
Chris Stanford contributed reporting.
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